Tag: Shannon Striebich

Livonia-Westland Business Leaders Meet with MHA on Affordability

Member News
Business leaders attend a Hospitals & Affordability presentation hosted by the MHA and Livonia-Westland Chamber of Commerce.
Laura Appel and Shannon Striebich sit in front of a Hospitals & Affordability presentation slide.
Laura Appel, MHA; and Shannon Striebich, Trinity Health Michigan; discussed hospital affordability challenges with business leaders during a May 14 event hosted by the MHA and Livonia-Westland Chamber of Commerce.

The MHA partnered with the Livonia-Westland Chamber of Commerce on May 14 to host an event at its Livonia offices to engage with business leaders about healthcare costs, listen to their needs and collaborate on potential solutions.

Laura Appel, executive vice president, government relations & public policy, MHA; and Shannon Striebich, president and CEO, Trinity Health Michigan, and current member of the MHA Board of Trustees; presented on the specific challenges facing hospitals, including rising prescription drug costs, stagnant reimbursement and hospitals’ role as large employers experiencing the same significant rise in insurance premiums as other businesses.

The event began with a welcome from Dan West, President/CEO, Livonia-Westland Chamber of Commerce, and the discussion was moderated by Chris Moyer, senior director of public affairs, Truscott Rossman.

The event is one of a series of formal events with business leaders that the MHA is hosting across the state to meet with the business community.

Members with questions about the event and future opportunities should contact John Karasinski at the MHA.

Coverage is Care at Trinity Health Michigan

Member News, MHA Rounds

Chiquita Berg, MD, MBA, FACOG, vice president, Community Health & Well-Being, Trinity Health Michigan.

Significant changes to Medicaid are expected to take effect in 2027, bringing new requirements and processes that could increase the risk of coverage loss for eligible individuals if systems are not prepared. While many details are still emerging, one thing is already clear: 2026 will be a critical year for hospitals and health systems to prepare patients and their own organizations for what’s ahead.

Hospitals serve as trusted access points for care and information, especially for Medicaid populations. As changes approach, hospitals across the state are preparing to assist their patients and communities. Trinity Health Michigan is implementing the Coverage is Care approach, a patient-centered initiative designed to help people better understand upcoming Medicaid changes, connect to trusted information and resources, and stay connected to coverage and care.

To echo Shannon Striebich, president and CEO of Trinity Health Michigan, Coverage is Care reflects Trinity Health Michigan’s commitment to preparing early, acting thoughtfully and doing everything we can to help patients stay connected to coverage and care. As Medicaid changes approach, health systems have an important responsibility to reduce confusion, strengthen support and work alongside community partners to protect access for the people we serve.

The Medicaid changes anticipated for 2027 include more frequent eligibility checks, new administrative requirements and adjustments that could make it easier for coverage to lapse due to missed paperwork or misunderstandings – even among people who remain eligible.

The stakes are high. Coverage disruptions can lead to delayed care, worsening health conditions, increased uncompensated care, and greater strain on the healthcare ecosystem. Preparation in 2026 can help reduce reactive problem-solving in 2027.

Trinity Health Michigan’s Coverage is Care approach is designed to help eligible people stay covered and connected to care by making Medicaid changes easier to understand, reinforcing trusted information and helping people know where to turn for support before avoidable barriers lead to coverage loss. Working alongside community partners, the approach aims to reduce confusion and strengthen access to care as 2027 changes approach.

Core Elements of Trinity Health Michigan’s Coverage is Care Approach

Early Awareness

Coverage is Care was built on the idea that earlier awareness matters. Helping people understand that changes are coming — before paperwork is missed or coverage is interrupted — can reduce preventable disruption.

Clear Guidance

The approach emphasizes clear, trusted information, so patients and community members better understand what may be changing, why it matters and where to go for reliable next steps.

Support When Barriers Arise

Some individuals may need more than information alone. Coverage is Care is intended to help people connect to support when barriers such as confusion, literacy, language, technology access or life circumstances make the process harder to navigate.

Community Partnerships

Trinity Health Michigan is also working alongside community partners as trusted messengers to help broaden awareness, reinforce shared information and strengthen community access points for guidance and support.

Strong partnerships expand reach, particularly for patients who may not regularly engage with healthcare.

2026 can be structured as a year for hospitals and health systems to build internal systems and partnerships, pilot workflows and outreach strategies, refine approaches based on real-world experience and prepare for broader implementation ahead of 2027. This phased approach allows hospitals to adapt as additional state and federal guidance becomes available.

Even with all this preparation, many aspects of the Medicaid changes remain uncertain. Investing in strategies like Trinity Health Michigan’s Coverage is Care approach can help hospitals protect patients, preserve access to care and position their organizations for a smoother transition in 2027, no matter how the details evolve.

For more information about Coverage is Care, contact the Trinity Health team.

MHA members will continue to receive further updates from the association as information is released by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the federal government. The MHA is collaborating with multiple stakeholders, including member hospitals, MDHHS and Protect MI Care coalition members in efforts to deploy consistent messaging to patients across the state. Members with questions about pending Medicaid changes may contact the MHA Advocacy Team.

MHA CEO Report — A Program Year in Review

MHA Rounds, Issues in Healthcare, Top Issues - Healthcare
MHA Rounds graphic of Brian Peters

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”  — Vince Lombardi

MHA Rounds image of Brian PetersI am pleased to share we just completed a successful MHA Annual Meeting, continuing a long-standing June tradition whereby we celebrate the conclusion of one MHA program year, and prepare for the next. Each program year is unique with the different challenges it presents. At this point five years ago, no one could have predicted how the emergence of COVID-19 would flip healthcare on its head and drastically alter the tactical objectives of our association. However, there is a constant: the MHA continues to rise to any challenge presented to us and we deliver results for our membership to improve the health and wellness of individuals and communities.

The 2023-2024 program year focused intensely on workforce, viability and behavioral health, while addressing the various “wildcard” issues that always come up. We were led with great wisdom and compassion by Shannon Striebich, president and CEO, Trinity Health Michigan, as our board chair. Due to Shannon’s commitment and leadership, the MHA accomplished numerous highly successful and impactful outcomes on behalf of our members.

One of the most significant challenges in this past year was the threat posed by government-mandated nurse staffing ratio legislation. This proposed policy had the potential to dramatically reduce access to care for individuals throughout the state. Our advocacy on the issue lasted throughout the entire year but was highlighted by an Advocacy Day we hosted in September that featured more than 150 hospital representatives, primarily consisting of nurse leaders, who came to the Capitol and conducted 118 meetings with lawmakers that day. Later in the year, the MHA successfully advocated our position at a committee hearing, where more than 60 supporters attended on very short notice to push back on false narratives and to support alternative nurse staffing solutions. As a result of our efforts, no committee votes have been scheduled, and momentum on this harmful legislation has been effectively stalled.

While we had to play defense against this harmful proposed legislation, the MHA spent the program year actively engaged in workforce development and efforts to grow the healthcare talent pipeline. The MHA worked with stakeholders to implement new funding designed to expand access to Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees through partnerships between community colleges and four-year universities, while also engaged in partnerships with other organizations to promote healthcare careers, increase clinical faculty and nurse preceptors, address high turnover rates in rural areas and promote healthcare career options. We continued our award-winning healthcare career marketing campaign designed to attract future workers and also redeployed our annual hospital workforce survey that shows the efforts of Michigan hospitals to recruit, retain and train healthcare workers is making a real difference. Finally, we hired our first-ever chief nursing officer at the MHA, which is already strengthening our ties to the nursing community throughout the state.

The viability of hospitals was another key focus and was largely supported through our legislative advocacy work. MHA funding priorities continued to be protected in the state budget, which includes $163 million for graduate medical education, $45 million for traditional disproportionate share hospitals, $15 million through the rural access pool and an additional $8 million for the obstetrical stabilization fund. The fiscal year 2024 budget also included $60 million annually to support hospitals with Level I and II trauma centers and $34 million annually to support hospitals that provide inpatient psychiatric care. Besides state funding, the MHA protected Medicaid funding, medical liability, the 340B drug pricing program and certificate of need.

The MHA is also intricately involved in in addressing the behavioral health crisis plaguing our state and country. Expanding access to care is a key focus, which included the MHA administrating a $50 million grant program to expand access to pediatric inpatient behavioral health services. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is a close partner in this work and the MHA participated in the MDHHS Advisory Committee on the creation of a psychiatric bed registry. The MHA launched a new member ED boarding survey to quantify the number of patients struggling with behavioral health access in the emergency department and the MHA is using this data when engaging with lawmakers, stakeholders and the public to explain the scope of the program. These learnings informed the creation of a four-bill package of legislation to address board-identified issues in the behavioral and mental health system, such as coverage parity and community mental health shortcomings.

Much of the work in the past year has focused on maternal and infant health and improving maternal health and birth outcomes. And I am pleased to share that our MHA Board of Trustees just approved the full slate of recommendations emanating from the MHA Community Access to Health Task Force, giving us the support to continue this important journey together.

And as usual, we effectively dealt with a long list of “wildcard” issues that emerged during the program year, including drug shortages, guardianship, infection control, patient transport, population growth and safety and quality. We also continued to strengthen our efforts related to the growing cybersecurity threat. Indeed, the Change Healthcare cyberattack was one of the largest and most impactful attacks ever seen and served as a clear reminder of the importance of our work in this space.

At our Annual Meeting, I spoke to our attendees about “the power of zero.” In the 2023-2024 program year, the following were true:

  • The number of Michigan acute care community hospitals and health systems that are not members of our association is zero. We have everyone at the table, which allows us to speak with one powerful, united voice.
  • We passed 39 MHA-supported bills through the state legislature that were enacted into law, with five more on their way to the governor for her signature. The number of MHA-opposed bills that made their way to the finish line was zero.
  • The MHA now has a full-time chief medical officer and a full-time chief nursing officer (as noted above). How many other state hospital associations can say this? Zero.
  • And most importantly, how many other associations – in any sector – are as relevant, as impactful, as mission-driven and successful as the MHA? I believe that number is zero.

I would like to recognize and thank our outstanding MHA Board of Trustees, our members, sponsors and business partners, but most of all, our incredible MHA staff for coming together to achieve such tremendous results for the patients and communities we collectively serve. I hope you will take the opportunity to celebrate these results with us.

As always, I welcome your thoughts.